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Labor 66 votes ahead in Vic seat McEwen

Daniel Fogarty and Melissa Iaria

Just a few dozen votes are separating the candidates in Australia's closest seat McEwen, while senior Liberal Sophie Mirabella is in deep trouble in her Victorian seat of Indi.

Liberal candidate Donna Petrovich inched seven votes closer on Monday to taking the seat of McEwen from sitting Labor member Rob Mitchell, but she is still 66 votes shy of victory with nearly 75 per cent of the vote counted.

In the country Victorian seat of Indi, independent candidate Cathy McGowan is 1,754 votes ahead of Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella on a two-party preferred basis with 50 per cent of the vote counted.

Ms McGowan said she and her supporters were on tenterhooks.

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"Everyone in the community is really excited and really hopeful," she said.

The Liberal Party won three Victorian seats on Saturday - Corangamite and the eastern suburbs seats of La Trobe and Deakin.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine credited the strong showing in the eastern suburbs to the coalition's pledge to the East West Link road project.

"It is interesting to note that in Victoria we delivered the biggest swing to the coalition in mainland Australia," he told reporters.

"This is a great result for the coalition in Victoria, particularly as three and four months ago people were saying that the big swings to the coalition would occur in Queensland and NSW and that Victoria would be a bastian of strength for the Labor Party.

"The big factor in that swing to the coalition in Victoria was the commitment of Tony Abbott to the East West Link stage one."

Dr Napthine said there were also swings to the coalition in other eastern suburbs seats that would benefit from East West Link - Menzies, Jagajaga and Aston.

But Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said the swings in eastern suburbs seats were not because voters in those areas were endorsing the tunnel project.

"If you look at the seats of La Trobe and Deakin, seriously, these seats were lost a couple of years ago," he said.

The government will sign contracts for the East West Link just eight weeks before the November 2014 state election.

"If it's such the electoral asset the premier claims it is, then why is he seeking to sneak this through eight weeks before Victorians vote?" Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews said it is clear many strong ALP supporters were unable to see the good things Labor did because of its dysfunction and disunity.

"If you can't govern yourself then the people of Victoria and the people of Australia will not choose you to govern for them."